IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD Be prepared to expect the unexpected. All photos by Maggie Berkvist. From still lifes To street scenes— be they mysterious… enterprising… incongruous… or reminiscent of a Hopper painting.
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Dusty Berke Joins the Ranks of Award-Winning Artists at the Salmagundi Club’s Village Preservation Exhibit
Dusty Berke received an award for her arresting photograph Playing Statues on Bleecker on October 16th at the prestigious Salmagundi Club. The photograph of West Village model and photojournalist Karen Rempel originally appeared in the “Karen’s Quirky Style” column in the May 2019 issue of WestView News. A combination of elements contribute to the photo’s
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November Means Thanksgiving in the West Village
By Gordon Hughes I sit on an outside bench at Cafe Panino Mucho Gusto in a heavy shirt, and there’s a chill in the air. As I enjoy my coffee on these fall mornings, I contemplate the things I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving. Being able to live here in the West Village tops my list.
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Classical Music in Review
By Hannah Reimann 9/11 Memorial Concert September 11, 2019 Schiller Institute NYC Chorus St. Veronica Creative Cultural Center The Schiller Institute NYC Chorus, its leaders and community strive to elevate the culture of the United States “by engaging the population in the performance of great Classical music.” They do this by including both professional and
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Piano Lessons: The Life and Art of German Diez
By Hannah Reimann A Documentary A Benefit Night at Steinway Hall September 12, 2019 German Diez is perhaps the most memorable late piano maestro of The Greenwich House Music School. Teacher to innumerable students there since 1950, from children to famous virtuosos, he is beloved and revered. Diez taught at Bard College, SUNY Purchase, The
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Survivors of the Lost Village
By Roger Paradiso Cinema Village is a jewel of a theater in Greenwich Village that takes you back to the golden age of cinema, dating back to 1963. With the recent closing of the Paris Theater in midtown, the CV is the longest running art house in Manhattan. As you walk east on 12th Street
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A Colonial American Romance
The True Saga of an American Beauty Who Captured a Baron’s Heart A destitute young lady is swept off her feet by a swashbuckling Baron…the stuff that fairytales and Hollywood movies are made of. But this timeless tale of Lady Frankland (Agnes Surriage) and Sir Harry Frankland is made up of more than fairydust and
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Father Graeme Napier: A Life Ordained by Culture and Spirit
By Hannah Reimann “You ought to be written up by the Times,” suggested publisher George Capsis to Graeme Napier, the Rector of St. John’s Anglican Church on Waverly Place and West 11th Street, after he experienced one of many concerts Father Graeme produces in his church. In the Spring of 2018, Joe Turco, an American
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Halloween in the Village. Oh Boy.
By Gordon Hughes It’s October and you begin to see a remarkable change in the West Village. It’s not just the weather. Yes, the trees begin to change color and hardy mums replace begonias on the stoops of the brownstones. But in addition, an amazing transformation begins around the third week of October; co-ops, brownstones,
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Style on the Street: Sunday Best
By Karen Rempel | Fashion Editor This month, as we recover from the heady whirl of New York Fashion Week, let’s take a look at people who dress in their Sunday Best to be seen on the streets in The Village (whether it’s Sunday or not!). 1. Classic style: Jean Boudreaux of New Roads, Louisiana,
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The Normalization of Gay
From Oppression to Legalization By Robert Heide In New York the “World Pride” month of June, 2019, was given over to celebrate gay life worldwide and the concept of freedom to be who we are—gay, straight, bisexual, and the trans categories of transvestite, transsexual, and transgender; and queer. Each day in June, walking out of
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Health, Beauty & Wellness
By Hannah Reimann Harvest Home, Saturday, October 26th—12 to 3 pm at St. John’s in the Village’s, St. Benedict’s Courtyard, featuring samples of Farm to People’s excellent produce and other delicious food that can be included in their delivered boxes to you. There will be music, pumpkin carving for the kids and other surprises for
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Cornelia Street Café Returns from Exile
With a star-studded performance on September 15 in the Meatpacking District. Cornelia Street Café comes home to the village! Come join in for the fun and music: September 15, 3-7 PM Gansevoort Plaza, Gansevoort Street & Little West 12th Street
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A Night Out with Noel Coward, Steve Ross and KT Sullivan
By Robert Heide The great New York singer Steve Ross—dubbed the “Crown Prince of New York Cabaret”—with the dynamic, amazing KT Sullivan—the artistic director of the Mabel Mercer Foundation—appeared in the past month of August in a show devised and written by Barry Day entitled Love, Noel—The Songs and Letters of Noel Coward. The program
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Smalls Jazz Club—25 Years of Bringing Up the Jazzcats
By Karen Rempel Smalls Jazz Club, in the cellar at 183 West 10th Street, makes an incalculable contribution to jazz music every day, incubating hundreds of talented young jazzcats since its inception in 1994. Owner and jazz pianist Spike Wilner tells us a bit about the history of the club as Smalls celebrates surviving and
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Magic Time! Art & Ephemera of the Caffe Cino
By Robert Heide Following on the heels of my last article entitled “The Legendary Caffe Cino Designated a NYC Landmark” for the August 2019 edition of WestView News along came an invite to attend a dual exhibition at the ClampArt Gallery at 247 West 29th Street. Opening night was August 15 and the exhibit of
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The Creative Genius of Diana Broussard
By Karen Rempel | Fashion Editor Diana Broussard is a creative force of nature. She’s a true pioneer in fashion design, from Calvin Klein’s eponymous underwear for women to the latest in wearable tech—exclusive, sleek handbags with customizable video displays. She has worked with some of the biggest names in the business, including Dior and
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Millenary Moche Nights at the Hendricks
By Gy Mirano When Peruvian artist Julio Granados was last in Lima he received a call from New York confirming he had been selected to paint a mural in the heart of Manhattan. The honor had been a long time coming and well-deserved. It is a joy to view his work—which is lyrical, lighthearted, and
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View From My 91st Floor Window
By Karin Batten In 2001 I had just moved to the Westbeth artist housing community, in the West Village, two months prior to the 9/11 attack. On the day of 9/11 the primaries for mayor were going on. I had just changed my district in New York City so I was re-registering to vote. I
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The Youth Orchestra of Milan Joins The Youth Orchestra of New York
Two of what might be called the world’s most prestigious youth orchestras will come together on August 9th and 10th in joint performances here in New York. From Milan, the home of Giuseppe Verdi, the Orchestra Sinfonica Junior (OSJ) joins The Children’s Orchestra Society of New York (COS), the youth orchestra founded in 1962 by
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The Middle East: A Source of Love, Peace and Art
By J. Taylor Basker Drones shot down by hostile powers, captures of tankers, divisive politics, threats of nuclear war, sanctions, kidnapping, bombs, beheadings—this is what we hear about the Middle East as Islamophobia in Europe and the U.S. grows. Yet, in Amman, Jordan this visiting Greenwich Village artist discovered a radically different situation. I was
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Hats On to Linda Zagaria!
By Karen Rempel | Fashion Editor With her dark hair curving against her alabaster cheek in a 1920s bob, and her signature hat, Linda Zagaria is instantly recognizable. Influenced by the stars of the silver screen, her elegant dresses and constant pearls evoke the era between the wars. Her passion for the Art Deco period
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Landmark Preservation Today
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, Architecture Editor The loss of the original NYC Penn Station caused citizens here to focus on the importance of our monumental buildings and special historic homes being lost. But the movement to preserve special places grew. Economic and population pressures continued to threaten our historic fabric, from Plymouth Rock to
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Book Review: Crimes and Punishments: Entering the Mind of a Sentencing Judge
Crimes and Punishments: Entering the Mind of a Sentencing Judge By Frederic Block ABA Book Publishing, Chicago, 210 pages, $34.95 In U.S. District Judge and West Villager Frederic Block’s new memoir, he explains the challenges of punishing people for criminal convictions. It is a book of great self-reflection, written in a plain and engaging style
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WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
IT WAS A VERY PROUD DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD and everyone came out in their true colors, including the local pets – like Spencer, this jolly little pooch in the handsome cravat ….. … and these visiting youngsters in their rainbow shawls brightening up the usually low key scene in Abingdon Square. ….Not to mention
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Bleecker Flower Shop
By Salvador V. Bleecker Flower Shop opened in March 2019 as a flower studio located on Bleecker Street in the West Village in Manhattan. It was founded by two Spanish friends, Valeria Castillejo and Bebes Ferrer, who bonded over a passion for flowers, nature and artisan work. When Valeria was looking for an apartment they
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Envisioning Its Future: Challenges for the Country’s Only Music School for the Blind
Interview with Dr. Leslie Jones, executive director of The Filomen M. D’Agostino Greenberg Music School (fmdgmusicschool.org) By Barbara Chacour SURPRISING HISTORY: The New York Lighthouse for the Blind was started in 1905 by sisters Edith and Winifred Holt (of the Holt publishing family), who had been inspired by a group of blind schoolchildren’s enthusiastic attendance
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The Psychology of Perpetrators, Bystanders, and Victims of the Holocaust
By Leila Amin Attempting to explain human behavior during an event as unfathomable as the Holocaust can seem like an impossible task. However, although a nation of bystanders was crucial to its implementation, so too was an army of active perpetrators, each of whom had to undergo a transformation of their own in order to
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50th Anniversary of Stonewall: Remembered through Dramatic Work
By Celeste Kaufman Phoenix Lindsey-Hall, a ceramicist, photographer, and mixed media artist, has a story to tell; and what better time to share her story than during the celebration of the Stonewall uprising? She explores themes related to queer communities, and the violence perpetrated against them. Originally focusing on photography, earning degrees from Parsons School
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Rocketman Launches Taron Egerton into Stardom
By Raphael Carty Rocketman is an audacious reimagining of Elton John’s life as a musical set to the Elton John/Bernie Taupin songbook, with touches of whimsy and surrealism creating a fantastically entertaining film. Beneath the stardust and sequins is a darker story than I had gleaned from the headlines over the years. From his parents
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Robert Heide At The Newark Museum
By John Gilman WestView News writer Robert Heide will be featured on a panel about Pop Art at the Newark Museum in downtown Newark on Saturday, July 13 at 2 PM. The Museum, at 49 Washington Street, is a few short blocks from Newark’s historic Penn Station—best way for Greenwich Villagers to get there is
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Whither the Village?
By Senior Minister at Judson Church The Village can’t be what it used to be any more. Been there, done that. It may be that the times have changed. Since 9-11, most people are more concerned about safety than we are about freedom. We even say good-bye with the words “Be Safe,” as though safe
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Mermaid Parade Splashes Up Coney Island’s Surf Avenue
By Karen Rempel Summer began with a splash on Saturday, June 22 with Coney Island’s 37th annual Mermaid Parade. Mermaids, Neptunes, merkids, and merdogs paraded in sea-deep splendor to a crowd of over 840,000 people. The parade ended with Coney Island-born King Neptune, Arlo Guthrie, and Queen Mermaid, Nora Guthrie, together with the self-designated mayor
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King Leer and the Sausage
By James Lincoln Collier King Leer was meeting with his cabinet. They were all there—Rumpelstiltskin, the Mock Turtle, Hansel and Gretel, and the King’s spokesperson, Huckleberry Sausage, a chubby woman wearing an elegant string of pearls. The King spoke. “What are we going to do about the Wicked Witch of the West Coast?” Rumpelstiltskin grimaced.
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The Village’s Own Gem of a Festival—The 13th Annual Manhattan Film Festival at Historic Cinema Village Theater
Villagers attend one of “The coolest film festivals in the World” as ranked by Movie-Maker Magazine The Manhattan Film Festival (MFF) recently completed its 13th year. The festival is rated by Movie-Maker Magazine as one of “25 film festivals worth the entry fee.” The MFF has been located at that historic gem of Independent filmmaking,
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Pat Lasch: Artist and Seven Generations in the West Village!
By Melinda Photis My mother, Pat Lasch, has the distinction of having had her artwork lost or discarded by the Museum of Modern Art in New York two years ago—not one of MoMA’s high points! But that’s only a small part of her history. My mom was born in Gotham Hospital on 5th Avenue. My
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The Kate Smith “God Bless America” Controversy
By Robert Heide Before every performance at the legendary Caffe Cino coffee house theatre on Cornelia Street, Joe Cino, the proprietor and guiding light for the plays presented there, would step forward under a spotlight, sometimes wrapped in an American flag, and introduce the play as it was about to start. Over the sound system
